TM Movie News: The Oscars Edition

It’s that time of year, film fans! The Oscar nominations are in, and there are a few surprises and a few…not surprises, as far as those go. Without further adieu, this is the complete list of the Academy Award Nominations for 2013, and my predictions and thoughts along with it.

Nominations:

Best Picture

"Argo"

"Django Unchained"

"Les Miserables"

"Life of Pi"

"Amour"

"Lincoln"

"Silver Linings Playbook"

"Zero Dark Thirty"

"Beasts of the Southern Wild"

Actress in a Leading Role

Jessica Chastain - "Zero Dark Thirty"

Jennifer Lawrence - "Silver Linings Playbook"

Emmanuelle Riva - "Amour"

Quvenzhané Wallis - "Beasts of Southern Wild"

Naomi Watts - "The Impossible"

Animated Feature Film

"Brave"

"Frankenweenie"

"ParaNorman"

"The Pirates! Band of Misfits"

"Wreck-It Ralph"

Writing - Original Screenplay

"Amour" - Michael Haneke

"Django Unchained" - Quentin Tarantino

"Flight" - John Gatins

"Moonrise Kingdom" - Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola

"Zero Dark Thirty" - Mark Boal

Music - Original Song

"Before My Time" from "Chasing Ice," music and lyrics by J. Ralph

"Everybody Needs a Best Friend" from "Ted," music by Walter Murphy, lyrics by Seth MacFarlane

"Pi's Lullaby" from "Life of Pi," music by Mychael Danna, lyrics by Bombay Jayashri

"Skyfall" from "Skyfall," music and lyrics by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth

"Suddenly" from "Les Miserables," music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil

Costume Design

"Anna Karenina"

"Les Miserables"

"Lincoln"

"Mirror Mirror"

"Snow White and the Huntsman"

Documentary - Short

"Inocente"

"Kings Point"

"Mondays at Racine"

"Open Heart"

"Redemption"

Makeup and Hairstyling

"Hitchcock"

"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"

"Les Miserables"

Production Design

"Anna Karenina"

"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"

"Les Miserables"

"Life of Pi"

"Lincoln"

Short Film - Live Action

"Asad"

"Buzkashi Boys"

"Curfew"

"Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw)"

"Henry"

Sound Mixing

"Argo"

"Les Miserables"

"Life of Pi"

"Lincoln"

"Skyfall"

Actor in a Leading Role

Bradley Cooper - "Silver Linings Playbook"

Daniel Day-Lewis - "Lincoln"

Hugh Jackman - "Les Miserables"

Joaquin Phoenix - "The Master"

Denzel Washington - "Flight"

Actor in a Supporting Role

Alan Arkin - "Argo"

Robert De Niro - "Silver Linings Playbook"

Philip Seymour Hoffman - "The Master"

Tommy Lee Jones - "Lincoln"

Christoph Waltz - "Django Unchained"

Actress in a Supporting Role

Amy Adams - "The Master"

Sally Field - "Lincoln"

Anne Hathaway - "Les Miserables"

Helen Hunt - "The Sessions"

Jackie Weaver - "Silver Linings Playbook"

Directing

"Amour" - Michael Haneke

"Beasts of the Southern Wild" - Benh Zeitlin

"Life of Pi" - Ang Lee

"Lincoln" - Steven Spielberg

"Silver Linings Playbook" - David O. Russell

Writing - Adapted Screenplay

"Argo" - Chris Terrio

"Beasts of the Southern Wild" - Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin

"Life of Pi" - David Magee

"Lincoln" - Tony Kushner

"Silver Linings Playbook" - David O. Russell

Foreign Language Film

"Amour" (Austria)

"Kon-Tiki" (Norway)

"No" (Chile)

"A Royal Affair" (Denmark)

"War Witch" (Canada)

Cinematography

"Anna Karenina"

"Django Unchained"

"Life of Pi"

"Lincoln"

"Skyfall"

Documentary - Feature

"5 Broken Cameras"

"The Gatekeepers"

"How to Survive a Plague"

"The Invisible War"

"Searching for Sugar Man"

Film Editing

"Argo"

"Life of Pi"

"Lincoln"

"Silver Linings Playbook"

"Zero Dark Thirty"

Music - Original Score

"Anna Karenina"

"Argo"

"Life of Pi"

"Lincoln"

"Skyfall"

Short Film - Animated

"Adam and Dog"

"Fresh Guacamole"

"Head over Heels"

"Maggie Simpson in 'The Longest Daycare'"

"Paperman"

Sound Editing

"Argo"

"Django Unchained"

"Life of Pi"

"Skyfall"

"Zero Dark Thirty"

Visual Effects

"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"

"Life of Pi"

"Marvel's The Avengers"

"Prometheus"

"Snow White and the Huntsman"

Now that we know the final list, here are my thoughts and predictions of the matter:

Right off the bat, it should come as no surprise that “Lincoln” was the Academy’s favorite film this year. That being said, anything and everything it was nominated for will probably win the award, with a few exceptions, of course.

For Best Actor in a Leading Role, Daniel Day-Lewis will take it, but Hugh Jackman getting a nomination makes me happy, as his performance in “Les Miserables” was impressive. From what I understand, Bradley Cooper also had an excellent performance in “Silver Linings Playbook,” which is further proof that I need to see that movie. Needless to say, any of these three winning the award would be awesome, but Daniel Day-Lewis will win. I feel it in my bones.

In the nominations for Best Actor in a Supporting role, Christoph Waltz, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Robert De Niro are all great nominees (and predictable for the latter two, I might add). That being said, however, after watching "Django Unchained", Leonardo DiCaprio got snubbed hard, as he was extremely committed to that role, as it showed tremendously in the final scenes of the film. As for whom I feel should win this award, I will be rooting for Christoph Waltz’s performance in Django Unchained.

In a very predictable nomination list for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Anne Hathaway’s intense performance in “Les Miserables” should steal the award. It truly was a powerful performance, and my absolute favorite thing about that film. As far as the Best Animated Film goes, “Wreck-It-Ralph” has the best chance of winning the Oscar, and it would be well-deserved. “Brave” was not exactly impressive, storytelling-wise, but it was visually stunning. “Wreck-It-Ralph” had everything going for it, and that is why I feel it will take the award.

While I’m on the subject of animation, “Paperman” will win for Best Animated Short, and it will be absolutely well-deserved.

In the Best Director category, Spielberg will win, no doubt, but Ben Affleck being snubbed is outrageous. This is possibly the biggest surprise in my eyes, and shame on the Academy for not giving credit where credit is due. Not that this isn’t the first time this happened, anyway, as this seems to be a recurring theme on their part.

For Best Original Screenplay, Quentin Tarantino absolutely deserves the win for “Django Unchained.” It must have been tough for him to top “Inglorious Basterds,” but he pulled it off, and that’s an incredible achievement in its own right. Give Tarantino the award now.

If “Skyfall” doesn’t win for Best Original Song, I will cry. ‘Nuff said.

Of the nominations listed, “Skyfall” should be the winner for Best Cinematography, but it should be noted that “The Dark Knight Rises” was snubbed in this category.

In another big surprise, “Looper” not only got snubbed for Best Editing, but it also did not make the cut on this list at all. And that’s terrible. Go out and buy this film now, because it was extremely impressive. The Academy not recognizing its excellence physically hurts me.

I was very surprised to see that “The Avengers” got a nomination for Visual Effects. It will most likely lose to "Prometheus", but the fact that it got the nomination at all is impressive.

And that’s that! What do you think of the nominations? Are you impressed at all? Surprised or unsurprised? Who do you think will take home all the glory, and who do you feel (if any) got snubbed the hardest? That’s all I got for ya today, and if you’ll excuse me, I apparently need to go watch “Silver Linings Playbook.” Until next time! I’m outta here!